VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Maybe he had an axe to grind…uh, make that a hatchet.

Virginia Beach police arrested 25-year-old Kirk Beckwith after he allegedly snuck into Salem High School carrying a hatchet. Apparently he was able to enter the building at about 5:45 a.m. when deliveries were being made to the cafeteria. Security alerted police who arrived a few minutes later to find Beckwith sitting on the stage in the school’s auditorium. Even at that early hour, there were some staff and students present. He was arrested without incident and there were no injuries.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Cowart’s father, Rob, told KTKR reporter Marissa Jasekt his son had slipped through the cracks of the VA’s mental health system. He says his son is bipolar. The illness he believes was triggered by the 14 months Kirk served in the Marine Corps. He says he was medically discharged after a suicide attempt.

When Jasek interviewed the suspect, the mental illness became apparent. When asked why he brought a hatchet into the school his response was incoherent to say the least:

When I walked out, there is a dirty little secret, and it’s a dirty little name and it’s a dirty little trick, that goes ’round here, that I, myself, come to you in bondage. What did you think the Commonwealth of Virginia’s main stock and trade was? Tobacky? That comes from North Cackalacky. But from VIRGIN-ia. We breed virgins to be bought and sold…I wanted to do something for all the children that have ever been sold into sex slavery and get out on a stage with a mother-f***ing ax and a f***ing toothpick of a f***ing knife, my katana, and just lay everything down.

A woman who attended Salem with Cowart posted on News Channel 3’s Facebook page that, “There was always something off…Anyone who knew him in school knew he was a nice kids [sic], but had mental illness issues.”

Jasek asked him if he intended to hurt anyone. Again, his response was rather incoherent.

“I actually left my house and I was waiting and I was talking to the Lord and I heard a gun battle and I heard screams and people dying, but I didn’t hear the sickening sounds because I knew there were the bad ones who died.”

Principal Daniel Keever issued a statement to reassure parents saying, in part, that there was a significant police presence during the incident and that he ”wanted to assure you that your student is safe and we are working under normal operating conditions.”

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

Police have charged Cowart with trespassing on school property, possession of a weapon on school property and disorderly conduct. He is being held in the Virginia Beach Correctional Facility without bond.